ACC manages a new claim every 2.3 minutes, 7,000 claims per day, which requires sophisticated technology infrastructure and comprehensive support.
The Challenge
ACC’s End User Support Team/Service Desk is responsible for supporting technology users throughout the organisation. A difficulty was that the internal IT team, previously outsourced to another vendor, needed help to raise IT user satisfaction – rating at around 68%.
The specific requirements identified were to increase the quality of service, improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs, improve planning and control and to optimise ACC’s ICT environment.
ACC were also wary of outsourcing the work to improve this rating so we needed to build their trust in that we could consistently deliver a high quality customer focused service.
The Datacom Difference
Knowledge-Centred Support (KCS) is a methodology that focuses on knowledge as a key asset of the support organisation. We wove this into an End User Support service that we’ve developed over a number of years to provide exactly what’s required to make and keep end users happy. We ensure that Service Desk analysts:
• Understand what their customers do, not just the technology they use to do their work
• Are present for the person on the phone, and focus on one call at a time
• Complete a regular certification process to ensure everyone has the knowledge and skills.
We also empower users to do things themselves and take advantage of automation and ICT Self-Service options.
Each analyst had two month’s training before the desk went ‘live’ which focused as much on what ACC does as the technologies being supported. The solution also ensures active management of user experience feedback and that the information the analysts are relying on is constantly validated and updated. We also continued to work with the internal IT team to increase flexibility and scalability to cater for high-volume call periods to ensure a highly responsive and reliable service. Since then, the ongoing challenge has been maintaining the customer knowledge through staff turnover.
The results have been significant. Customer satisfaction exceeded 90% for last year, with results of up to 98%, and Service Level Agreements are consistently exceeded. For August 2015, self-service implemented to allow customers to resolve their own requests or issues achieved 22%, and 83% of issues were resolved in the first call.
Engagement occurs at appropriate levels through service desk to customer relationship managers and third party service delivery managers. All customer satisfaction responses are reviewed. Where there has been dissatisfaction expressed this is acknowledged via phone and investigated. Positive feedback is shared and celebrated regularly.
“Thanks in no small part to the effectiveness of the Datacom Service Desk over the past three years we have turned around end user perception of the ICT brand here at ACC. I have been impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the team since transition. It now means consistent high quality customer service at first point of contact is now a reality and not just an aspiration.”
Paul Jepson, Chief Information Officer, Accident Compensation Corporation